Wednesday, November 08, 2006

A Pirate's Life for Me

When my 2-year-old son, Jordan, first started to get into pirates, I wasn’t so sure about it. I didn’t like the violence, the sword fighting, the bad language, the drinking. I didn’t really like the disabled pirate thing, either: the “peg legs,” the eye patches, the hooks for hands. Jordan wears braces on his legs for orthopedic impairments and uses forearm crutches, and I didn’t like him seeing these disabled pirates hobbling around on busted-up wooden crutches.

But the pirate thing couldn’t be stopped. My husband got Jordan into the Pirates of the Caribbean; I tried to push Muppet Treasure Island. Whatever pirate movie was on, Jordan insisted that pirates would be part of his life!

Now he is totally obsessed with pirates. He was one for Halloween, of course, and this year he’s going to have a pirate-themed birthday party (maybe even with a Jack Sparrow look-alike in attendance—but is that for him or for Mommy?).

But it goes beyond just pirates on special occasions. Sometimes I think he truly thinks he is a pirate. Captain Jack Sparrow is a constant topic of conversation at our house. Jordan’s pirate name is now Captain Jordan Two Swords. He spends most of his day thinking about, talking about, playing with, and watching pirates. His collections of Playmobil and Pirates of the Caribbean pirates and accessories are growing. I must admit that I love playing with them, too. The Playmobil pirates are like a boy’s version of Barbies, with their hats that snap on, their beards that come off and can be switched between pirates. They have capes, necklaces, earrings, all tiny and all fun to put on and off.

Then of course, there are the swords. The Playmobil and Caribbean pirates all have swords that snap on and off. Then the bigger, kid-size swords: Jordan has four of them now. I resisted sword fighting with him at first—the violence!!—but when I finally did, I was impressed with how well he does at it. He doesn’t just swing his arm around; instead, he does very precise maneuvers with his wrist. He doesn’t flail around but is very exact. And he gets so much joy out of it. He doesn’t even mind when he loses. I found a way to actually hit the sword out of his hand so I can win every time (I know, bad mommy!). He yells, “You got me!” and sometimes even falls down. His father loves swords, too, and is planning on taking fencing lessons with Jordan when Jordan is older.

Jordan loves singing pirate songs—we recently got a whole CD Of “swashbuckling sea songs.” He has so much fun singing along to the music, and he always makes me sing, too. He uses so many pirate expressions, like “Shiver me timbers,” “Walk me plank!” and much to my horror at first, “Surrender the booty!”He also loves pirate treasure. He has loved playing with money for a while now (he even knows who Andrew Jackson is because of playing with money!). Before this, he had a piggy bank and several cash registers he was obsessed with. But now he can put his interest in money into pirate gold. He counts the coins, arranges them, puts them away, takes them back out, and shouts, “I got treasure!”

But the real turning point for me, when I began to really accept his love of pirates, was when we were shopping for more Playmobil pirates, and I came across Captain Peg Leg. With my newfound “disability rights” feelings, I didn’t like that name at all. I started to think more about how I didn’t like the eye patch or hook things, either. Why do pirates have to have these impairments all the time?

But Jordan saw Captain Peg Leg and shouted, “He has braces!” Jordan has never known a time in his life when he did not have casts or braces of some kind on his legs. So, for him, seeing someone else who had braces, which he rarely sees, was something great and new for him. I put Captain Peg Leg in the cart.

Then, while watching the pirate movies, seeing these pirates that do have hooks, peg legs (or prosthetic is the right word!), and eye patches, I started to view them differently. Yes, they have impairments, but not disabilities. The pirate with the leg prosthetic sword fights right along with the others. The one with the hook for a hand drinks his booze with the other hand. There is never any talk among the pirates about their impairments; they are seen as just another part of life. Besides, there is no time for pity or for thinking too much about any limitations—there are songs to sing, booty to steal, and adventures to have!

3 comments:

I never really thought of it quite that way before. I have always loved the sense of freedom that Pirates seemed to have.

Life at sea depends on every shipmate pulling his/her weight,to make sarcrifices for the the survial of the ship and crew.

Orthodics and scars were a badge of honor, a symbol of brotherhood and devotion to a common ideal. even if that ideal is purely survival.

A common thread that binds all mankind is that desire to be more than we are preceived. To carve place in this world where your achivements would acknowledged by all. As long as you have the conviction to stay the course. Fought the good fight and gave no quater regardless of that the "nay"sayers.

Those men and women were treated as outcast but made a place for themselves. In a world that was filled with rules that basically stated "You can't do that because..." they showed the World they could and would do whatever it took to make their presents felt, so strongly, in fact that many "lawful" nations became their patrons because they became very good at their job.

They would do what no one else could, and thereby earning there place in history of the world.

I too had a Playmobil Pirate Ship and it was absolutely fantastic, one of my favourite toys. The first toy I am giving my young nephew is a pirate doll I made him.

There was controversy last year when a statue of a famous disabled artist was put on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in London. All sorts said it was political correctness gone mad to have a disabled person in Trafalgar Square. And yet there is Lord Nelson on top of his collumn with his one eye, one leg and slight brain damage; one of the greatest national heroes the UK has.

Okay, so not a pirate, but a seafarer of that period and one whose story suggests a rather different attitude to impairment in that particular time and place...

Pirate swords are fascinating pieces of weapons which any great swords collector would instantly want to get their hands on. That's why I got my full replica set from http://www.replicaswordsource.com . Now I have the complete set.

About This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences raising a child who has some orthopedic impairments. I will share reflections on our journey, from the everyday annoyances with the "system" to the achievements of my wonderful little boy to the life-changing thoughts and feelings he brings to my life.

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THE JORDAN RIVER

The significance of the Jordan River begins when Jacob falls asleep beside it and has the dream of the ladder that goes to heaven. Angels descend and ascend while he is dreaming, as though to say that the power of God, the revelation of God was moving into those waters, making the River Jordan a special place of connection with God. It was as though the river provided the sustenance and the strength that God would have for God’s people. And all through history the Jordan River would water the crops, would provide a boundary for the Kingdom of God, a boundary of safety. It is almost as though it is the vein of God’s power that the people of God could tap....The people passed through the waters of the Jordan to arrive at the Promised Land, a land that was not alienated from God, not far away from God, but a land that was close to God and God’s love. And then there was the occasion of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus walked into the river Jordan. The heavens opened, and the Spirit of God poured into our Lord; and from that moment on, our Lord gave his ministry in this world, healing people, caring for people, providing a willingness to die for people. Likewise, if you would like to have the power of God move into your heart, then you walk into the waters of Jordan, because that is when the heavens open and the power of the Spirit of God moves inside you. From "The Waters of Jordan" by Rev. Samuel G. Alexander